2003 F-250 6.0 diesel charging problems

Charging system on the truck was fine for the first 3 1/2 years than the batteries started going dead. Brought it to the Ford dealership and said the charging system and batteries were fine. They said I had to drive the truck more and the batteries were going dead because I did not use the truck enough. I still have the same problem. I can charge the batteries and drive the truck on a regular basis and in a couple days the batteries go dead. There are no indicator lights going on saying that the charging system is not working. There is nothing in the truck that is plugged in that would cause a discharge. I finally bought two new batteries because the old ones were going dead so quick .The new batteries went dead after 10 days. Connections at the battery are perfect. I was using the truck on a regular basis when this happened this time and they still went dead. Where do I start?

I know what you're talking about but I checked for that and kept a close eye on the truck and the lights stayed off.I know what you're talking about but I checked for that and kept a close eye on the truck and the lights stayed off.

It's hard for me to answer your question when I already had the Ford garage and two other shops look at it. I could not tell you exactly what they did to check this out but maybe they did not dig in to it enough. There is a good possibility that the batteries and the alternator were working properly but maybe they did not check for any accessories that would be draining the batteries when the truck sat. I honestly don't know if they did that.It's hard for me to answer your question when I already had the Ford garage and two other shops look at it. I could not tell you exactly what they did to check this out but maybe they did not dig in to it enough. There is a good possibility that the batteries and the alternator were working properly but maybe they did not check for any accessories that would be draining the batteries when the truck sat. I honestly don't know if they did that.

A good friend of mine is a excellent mechanic and he will look at the charging system in depth this coming week such as checking the alternator for charging and anything that could be causing the batteries to be discharging. I just spoke to him and he is going to dig into it. Like I said, I had absolutely no problems with this truck for the first 3 1/2 years. I live in northern Minnesota and this truck started when it was 40° below zero faithfully and I didn't even have it plugged in. Something went wrong. Go figure!A good friend of mine is a excellent mechanic and he will look at the charging system in depth this coming week such as checking the alternator for charging and anything that could be causing the batteries to be discharging. I just spoke to him and he is going to dig into it. Like I said, I had absolutely no problems with this truck for the first 3 1/2 years. I live in northern Minnesota and this truck started when it was 40° below zero faithfully and I didn't even have it plugged in. Something went wrong. Go figure!

You have a dead short somewhere in electrical system. have the alternator checked even tho it is new.these have been known to be bad many a times. also have the starter motor taken out and checked by a good automotive electrician.these can have a short but still workcheck the voltage regulator.these are either built into alternator or are connected remotelythe alternator and battery complete the electrical circuit, so if one is bad it will stop the vehicle when battery charge is gone

Initially, a test, on ignition ON (but not engine running or started) does the red charge light lit up? if yes, then the indicator works and the sensor works; if no, then indicator light is faulty and the batteries are not charging but you are not informed. Additionally, pls try:

check the alarm system including the triggers, door switch;

while park (preferably at night), run the engine at idle and note the RPM, switch on the headlights, RPM should be maintained or down a little. Thereafter, step on the brakes. If the headlight dims a bit, then the alternator is not pushing enough charge to the battery, if not then charging is working; alternately, you can try the A/C instead of the brakes although normally there is an idle compensator when A/C is engaged;

manually hardwire an ammeter to the battery to visually determine if the battery is really charging and if so by how much.

Just a start, do postback how things turned up or should you need additional information. Good luck and Thank you for using FixYa.

Do you have an alarm? radio works good? amplifier (if applicable)?
something is draining the power when not running, you will need to determine what uses the battery power when the engine is not running and see if it has a pull on the power. you can do this by disconnecting what ever uses the power when not running ,( radio , alarm , amp. , ect..) and then reconnect it with the dome light on to see if the dome light goes dim when connected , this would indicate a big power draw.
what kind of tests have you already done?

well without any definitive answers or tests we can only speculate what the problem could be , but know that there has to be a drain from some device or accessories or the alt. is not doing its job be cause of regulator or charging system

electech

well without any definitive answers or tests we can only speculate what the problem could be , but know that there has to be a drain from some device or accessories or the alt. is not doing its job be cause of regulator or charging system

Sounds like a problem that had us scratching our heads just like you are now. Do you park it in the garage the guy who had this problem found out that his interior lights were coming on while his truck was parked in the garage and the batteries drained just like yours. All systems checked out just like yours but something was coming on during the evening that was just enough drain to do the batteries in. We finally installed battery post shut offs(any parts house)he simply shut these off during times that the truck was parked for longer than a day or two and it fixed it. Your guys have already checked out all the obvious so when you park it go out and make sure there are no light on even a small one can do it. Good Luck

may be hooked up backwards?or there is something draining the battery whilst engine is off. geta multimeter and start the truck. as soon as you get it started measurethe voltage coming from alternator. observe the minus sign carefullyand ensure you have the right leads going to the right side of thebattery. upon starting it should read around 12.8v rev the engine up abit and keep it reved up for a minute or 2 and it should read around14.4v. let us know how you get on....kevin

may be hooked up backwards?or there is something draining the battery whilst engine is off. get
a multimeter and start the truck. as soon as you get it started measure
the voltage coming from alternator. observe the minus sign carefully
and ensure you have the right leads going to the right side of the
battery. upon starting it should read around 12.8v rev the engine up a
bit and keep it reved up for a minute or 2 and it should read around
14.4v. let us know how you get on....kevin

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How do you know the battery is good? If you are sure the battery is good (not sure how you determined this), then you should check the charging system. You can do this by checking battery voltage with engine off, then again with engine running. Voltage should be 1 - 2 volts higher with engine running if charging system is working. This is just a quick check, but will definitely identify a charging system that is not working at all.

If it's telling you charge is low, it's probably telling you the battery is low
You may have a charging system problem or a bad battery. I see the car is only two years old but, I've seen batteries fail right away it's not out of the question. I would get it to a shop and have the battery and charging system checked. As far as the air bags go, there may be a problem there, that is draining the battery. A bad battery will make these newr cars do all kinds of strange things, I guess I'd start with the battery.

No, there's no such device to prevent the car from starting; a battery that requires a jump start would require more than 5 minutes running time to recharge. The battery needs to be charged to work again, (unless it has a dead cell, inexpensive battery testers will confirm). A jump start is still possible but wouild require leaving the jumper cables on for at least 15-30 minutes to provide enough of a charge to start the Rav again. Charging on a battery charger is preferable.

In summary, most should get more than 3 years out of their battery. You've already determined that the acid levels in the battery are good (most don't even check for fluid levels). Constant charging and discharging will kill a battery and this isn't apparent in your case.
If a battery charger isn't handy, try hooking up the jumper cables and leave the other car running for at least 15 minutes. I hope this answers your questions. Best of luck.
Greg